Theresa May gives Vladimir Putin until MIDNIGHT to explain Salisbury spy attack – or face the wrath of Britain

The PM told MPs this afternoon that ministers are ready to take much more extensive measures against the country and branded Russia’s suspected use of the nerve agent Novichok on Britain’s streets as a ‘reckless and despicable act’

By Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor

12th March 2018, 5:13 pm

Updated: 13th March 2018, 7:38 pm

By Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor

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THERESA May yesterday gave Russia’s Vladimir Putin until midnight tonight to explain the Salisbury spy poisoning — or face the wrath of Britain.

She told MPs it was “highly likely” ex-MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with a Russian-produced nerve agent called Novichok.

Yulia Skripal and her dad, ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, were found slumped unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday

Poisons linked to Russia in the past

THERE are three known types of substance that have been linked to use to by Moscow, Bob Seely has said.

Powerful opiods such as fentanyl - thought to have been used to overcome terrorists holding 900 people hostage in Moscow in 2002. Around 130 died.

Radioactive toxins such as polonium-210 - like which killed Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. It's lethal to humans if it is ingested. It causes acute liver and kidney damage and other symptoms similar to the final stages of cancer. It is hugely expensive to manufacture and is so toxic that its use is restricted

Dioxins - used in the attempted assasination of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004

No10 refused to give further detail of what Mrs May’s threats would entail. She will report back to the Commons tomorrow afternoon.

The Sun revealed last week how the PM ordered Cabinet ministers to draw up “a full spectrum response” to punish Russia if proof emerged that it is the culprit.

Options include expelling Moscow’s diplomats from London, asset freezes and travel bans for Kremlin-linked oligarchs, as well as reinforcing Britain’s troops and jets on Europe’s eastern flank.

The PM and other Cabinet ministers last night began phoning world leaders to build as broad a consensus at possible to condemn Vladimir Putin’s regime - starting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

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The Russian Embassy kept silent on the PM’s demand. But a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman in Moscow called the Commons statement “a circus show”.

Double agent Mr Skripal, 66, and Yulia, 33, remained critically ill.

Cops and Army teams yesterday entered Winterslow, Wilts, where investigators in protective suits loaded a white van on to a truck.

It is thought the van may have been used to remove Mr Skripal’s BMW from Salisbury.

Senior Tory Tom Tugendhat last night warned that England football fans in Russia for the World Cup could face revenge attacks for any sanctions from Kremlin thugs.

Former KGB officer claims he was warned he was being targeted by Russians alongside double agent Sergei Skripal

Does Vladimir Putin have to sign off foreign killings?

AN INQUIRY into the death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko concluded that his killing was "probably

But does President Putin actually have the power to order targeted killings?

Experts have said that under new Russian laws, President Putin has unprecedented powers to permit foreign killings abroad - if the person is accused of extremism or terrorism.

Laws which were introduced in 2006 mean that the Russian President has the power to use the country's armed forces and special services outside of its borders to combat threats.

Experts have said that the law could be used as an excuse for the Sergei Skripal poisoning.

Natasha Kuhrt, a Russia specialist at King’s College, London, told EuroNews that “if as the law says that anyone can be targeted who is designated as an enemy/danger to the Russian state within or without Russia, then someone like Skripal could be targeted."

Other countries like the UK and the US allow the use of military and special forces abroad to combat external threats.

But other experts disagreed. John Russell, Emeritus Professor of Russian and Security Studies at the University of Bradford, said it was highly unlikely.

And legal experts William Simons and Mikhail Antonov told Euronews: "The alleged poisoning in Salisbury would... not fit the case of a ‘counter-terrorist operation’ under RF [Russian Federation] law."

British financer Bill Browder told the Times today he did not believe that an attempt to kill a former spy would have been made without Putin knowing.

And it was revealed that President Putin issued an order for a passenger airliner to be shot down after he was told it could be carrying a bomb and heading for Russia.

In a new documentary film called 'Putin' he said: "I told them: act according to the plan."